The real made to measure ones are good, the off the shelf ones are ok (ish). BKS sold out the off the shelf business to Wank Thomas, and the quality dropped considerably to the original made to measure stuff. worth a punt at around £150 max for brand new I suppose
Proper bks are top notch,some of the best you can get.but a lot of places selling the stuff that was made under license by frank Thomas b4 they went pop.ok but not to the same standard.proper stuff was hand made in Devon at bks factory.hope that helps .
After many years of wanting, I finally bought my dream set of one piece leathers....BKS Extreme 5000RX their top of the range made to measure suit priced at £1800. Truly awesome piece of kit. These are ONLY available directly from BKS themselves here (BKS LEATHER). I was lucky in that I fitted a set that was on display at the NEC show and they had to sell on the last day, got them for the bargain price of £600. The other BKS as mentioned was the name sold to Frank Thomas and are more off the shelf quality I would say similar to Wolf/Arlen Ness/lower Dainese, I havent had any experience of these but a mate has a two piece and he rates them for quality/comfort but cant thankfully vouch for their crashability. Heres another gratuitous pic of mine!
The made-to-measure BKS stuff is superb - BKS LEATHER - but very heavy. I live less than an hour or so from the BKS factory in Exmouth. I've spent a few afternoons down there chatting with them and according to them the BKS branded stuff that was part of the Frank Thomas empire is not of the same quality but is still very good indeed. They played a big part in its design and establishing the manufacturing process and they say it is comparable with Alpine Stars or Dainese. From what I've seen of it this rings true. I have some of their gloves and they really are excellent - and a bargain too when FT went belly-up.
I tried some off the peg BKS leather on.... Thought they were V good for the money! Heavy though and potential very hot! Bargain for the asking price IMHO.
I've got some of the FT BKS kit and have crashed in it. Based on my experience of AS (fraying stichwork) and Dainese (busted seams), its good kit.
I've had my made to measure vented 2 piece for 2 years and would not hesitate to use them again. They are expensive but I like my skin the way it is so saved up (a lot) and got them. The WHOLE suit is built to a very high protective standard, not just the armour as in other makes. You pay for what you get. They're British, very helpful and so far have not had to test them!!!
